The Steel Trap Confessional
by ilovetvalot
Summary: When Morgan and Rossi are stuck in an elevator, what secrets will be revealed. THREESHOT
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: First of all, we have exciting news, my friends! Nominating ballots for "The Profiler's Choice Awards" are ready and waiting for you at the "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. So please, everyone, come on over and name some of your favorite fics and authors. Lets honor our favorite stories and authors on the site! We want to hear from you. Rules and guidelines are also available at the forum and as always, tonnie2001969 and I would be delighted to answer any questions that you may have. **

**For anyone willing to help us advertise the awards, we've created a short author's note template available on both my profile page (ilovetvalot) and my co-author's (tonnie2001969). We'd love to have everybody's help making this venture a huge and fun success. Please feel free to copy and paste it into your own author's notes and/or profiles! With your help, I believe this can become an annual event that we ALL look forward to seeing. I hope that you're all as eager as I am to see this incredible project lift off. And a very BIG thanks to all the authors helping us advertise these awards! We truly appreciate any assistance you can provide.**

**We also have a new interview for you at the forum with the incredibly talented kdzl. Please join us as we get to know her.**

**Finally, we've added a new discussion thread that will hopefully become a useful resource for everyone at the forum called, "Finding a Beta on Chit Chat on Author's Corner". If you'd like to advertise your beta skills and make yourself available to other authors, please come sign up. We'd love to hear from you!**

* * *

**The Steel Trap Confessional**

**Chapter One**

Derek Morgan was not afraid of anything. Well, almost anything. He had one tiny, little, eensy difficulty…not even serious enough to be considered a fear, per se. After all, everyone had a small phobia, didn't they? It just so happened that his …challenge… was with elevators. Particularly stuck elevators.

As in…jammed in between floors never to rise again…but, unfortunately, more than capable of plunging to the earth...elevators.

His breath jolted out of his lungs as he felt the steel floor shudder beneath him, and he managed to grab for the safety bar on the wall just at the same moment that the so-called security lights flickered into nothingness.

Oh, hell no! His mind screamed as he forced himself to attempt breath normally. This was not happening! Not again!

"I swear by all that is holy," Morgan muttered as he tightened his grip around the round bar, pressing his back against the not-so-stable wall, "I'm personally gonna chop off a maintenance man's head for this one!"

A deep chuckle rent the air just then, and if he could have seen him, Derek Morgan would have cheerfully strangled the man that was currently trapped inside the cube of doom with him.

"Now, Morgan," David Rossi's smooth voice came back from somewhere just a few feet away, "We can't blame maintenance for the thunderstorm outside. I'm sure they didn't plan to lose electricity, you know."

"Rossi," Morgan bit out through clenched teeth, "there are a lot of times that I really appreciate that sarcastic sense of humor you're cursed with. Times that I find it seriously amusing. This ain't one of them."

Choking back a chuckle at the younger man's rapidly paling face, illuminated by the dim lights left on in the elevator, Dave nodded solemnly. "Understood."

Slamming his hands against the control panel, Derek furiously punched buttons as sweat began trickling down his muscular back. Freaking technology! How the hell were they gonna get out of here? It's not like these things came with escape pods!

"I don't think beating up the buttons is gonna make this thing work any faster, Morgan," Dave offered dryly as he leaned back against the corner, watching the obviously frustrated man continue to attack the controls. "Why don't you try using the emergency phone?"

Eyes widening, Derek swallowed. A phone! Why the hell hadn't he thought of that? Snatching open the little metal door and grabbing the handset, he listened as a distant voice greeted him.

"Yeah, save the pleasantries, buddy," Derek growled, clutching the phone tightly in his hand as he pressed it to his ear. "This is SSA Derek Morgan. I'm trapped with another agent in an elevator somewhere between the tenth floor and the ground floor. Get me out of here," he ordered harshly, barely resisting the urge to bang the receiver against his head.

Watching as Morgan's face clouded angrily, Rossi's lips twitched as he heard Derek spit irritably, "What do you mean you have to know what floor I'm trapped on? How the hell am I supposed to know THAT? I'm IN the freaking elevator!"

Rolling his eyes, Dave leaned forward, tapping Derek on the shoulder before gesturing to the numbers above the elevator door. "Sixth floor, Morgan," Dave muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Derek grumbled, ignoring the tone he just knew he heard in the other man's words. "We're on the sixth floor according to the lights over the elevator door." Inhaling sharply as he listened to the maintenance man on the other end of the phone, Derek yelled, "Hours? What do you mean we could be in here for hours? You think I care about a freaking power surge? I don't give a damn if half the city IS out! Get me out of here!" Jerking the phone away from his ear a split second later, Derek shouted, "That son of a bitch hung up on me!"

"Derek, calm down," Rossi urged, plucking the phone from his fellow agent's trembling hands and replacing it inside the metal box from whence it came. "You're gonna hyperventilate if you keep up like that," Dave warned. "And believe me when I say, I'm not giving your sorry ass mouth to mouth because you went down from a panic attack," Rossi deadpanned.

"How the fuck can you be so calm, Rossi?" Derek yelped, turning wild eyes on his colleague. "We're standing in a tin box, six floors from the ground, held up by pulleys made by the lowest possible bidder! I'd say it's time to fucking panic, man!"

"Derek," Dave said calmly, arching one brow, "I'm not averse to knocking you out, son, and riding this show out in complete silence."

Shooting his colleague a look of sheer disbelief, Morgan snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Sure you could. Is that before or after you get done crying after you break your hand?"

"Sit. Down," Rossi ordered, pointing to the opposite corner of the elevator. Watching Derek's face cringe as the elevator shook slightly, he added, sharply, "Consider it an order from a superior. Sit!"

Frowning, Derek slid down the wall to the worn carpet. "Fine, I'm fucking down. Now, what?" he asked, glaring up at the elder man. "Any other orders?"

"None you'd appreciate," Dave muttered, easing down in the opposite corner and stretching his long legs out in front of him. "But to answer your other question...we wait."

"Ain't never been real good at sitting on my hands, Rossi," Derek complained, wiping the sweat from his brow as he blew out a long breath.

"Then take a nap," Rossi grunted, leaning his head back against the metal wall behind him and reminding himself that it could be exponentially worse. He could be trapped with Reid. God help them all if that ever happened.

"Look, Rossi...if you don't want me to start banging my head against these walls, you're gonna have to come up with something better than, 'Sit down and shut up'."

Closing his eyes and squeezing the bridge of his nose, Dave silently counted to ten. Who knew the biggest badass in the BAU had a fear of enclosed spaces? And how the hell had he gotten lucky enough to get trapped in one with him? Damn his lazy ass! He knew he should have taken the stairs. "What do you want me to say, Derek?" Dave sighed, mentally steeling himself for hours of less-than-enjoyable boredom. "Let's play twenty questions?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: First of all, we have exciting news, my friends! Nominating ballots for "The Profiler's Choice Awards" are ready and waiting for you at the "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. So please, everyone, come on over and name some of your favorite fics and authors. Lets honor our favorite stories and authors on the site! We want to hear from you. Rules and guidelines are also available at the forum and as always, tonnie2001969 and I would be delighted to answer any questions that you may have. Now, let's get nominating! **

**For anyone willing to help us advertise the awards, we've created a short author's note template available on both my profile page (ilovetvalot) and my co-author's (tonnie2001969). We'd love to have everybody's help making this venture a huge and fun success. Please feel free to copy and paste it into your own author's notes and/or profiles! With your help, I believe this can become an annual event that we ALL look forward to seeing. I hope that you're all as eager as I am to see this incredible project lift off. And a very BIG thanks to all the authors helping us advertise these awards! We truly appreciate any assistance you can provide.**

**We also have a new interview for you at the forum with the incredibly talented kdzl. Please join us as we get to know her.**

**Finally, we've added a new discussion thread that will hopefully become a useful resource for everyone at the forum called, "Finding a Beta on Chit Chat on Author's Corner". If you'd like to advertise your beta skills and make yourself available to other authors, please come sign up. We'd love to hear from you!**

* * *

**The Steel Trap Confessional**

**Chapter Two**

"Works for me," Derek said, bobbing his head as he eyed the vents above them, wondering if there just might be an escape hatch after all.

"I was joking, man," Rossi winced, shooting Derek an incredulous look. Surely to God that imbecile didn't think he was going to sit around playing a schoolyard game, did he?

Apparently so.

"It's either that, or you can hoist my ass up there," Derek said, pointing to the ceiling, "and I try to shove my substantial ass through that tiny ass hole." Shaking his head, he added, narrowing his eyes, "Unless you wanna give it a try, man."

"Jesus," Dave groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face. "Who goes first?"

"Age before beauty," Morgan grinned unrepentantly, gesturing ever so graciously at Dave.

"Keep talking, asshole," Dave muttered. "Fine, but this elevator is like Vegas," Dave warned, flashing Morgan a dangerous look.

"What's said on the elevator stays on the elevator," Morgan said dutifully, winking at Dave as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, feeling some of the earlier tension start to lessen slightly.

"Exactly," Dave nodded, settling more comfortably on the floor. "All right, question one. Why did you join the FBI, Morgan?"

"Why not?" Morgan shrugged, tapping his fingers against his thigh.

"Twenty questions only works if you answer the damned questioned, youngster," Dave said, raising a brow as he speared the other man with a warning look. "And this was your idea."

"Fine," Morgan sighed, leaning his bald head against the cool steel behind him. "Honestly, I did it for my mom."

"Your mom?" Dave echoed, tilting his head as he surveyed the man in front of him with a practiced eye.

"Yes, I'm a mama's boy," Morgan sneered, beating Rossi to the punch before the other man could mock him. "She thought it'd be safer than being a beat cop in Chicago."

"And I'm betting you've never told her differently," Rossi queried knowingly, well aware of the varied events he had deliberately hidden from his own mother, God rest her soul.

"Hell, no," Morgan snorted. "If mom knew a quarter of the shit we'd seen, I'd be visiting her at the loony bin on my vacations." Clearing his throat, Morgan nodded to Rossi. "Same question...why'd you join up?"

"Would you buy that I wanted to make a difference?" Dave asked, tongue in cheek, his expression as serious as he could manage.

"Fuck, no," Morgan chuckled. "I'd be more willing to believe that it began with a woman," he mused.

"You'd actually be right," Dave said affably, smiling easily. "Wife number one's influence, actually. She wanted me to have a more lucrative career and she thought the Bureau would provide that. However, it also provided long hours and weeks upon weeks away from home. That part she wasn't so keen on," Dave quipped, his lips tilting lopsided as he remembered the first Mrs. Rossi's fiery temper.

"Yeah," Morgan nodded. "This place is hell on relationships, isn't it?" he grunted in askance.

"It takes a special kind of woman to put up with the shit that rides shotgun on this job," Dave agreed with a grim nod. "Which puts the ball back in my court, doesn't it? Question two, Agent Morgan. Why do you continue to ignore this chemistry you have between our technical analyst and yourself?"

"Baby Girl?" Derek frowned, jerking his head back in surprise. "You've read that all wrong, Rossi," Derek said with a negative shake of his head. "It's not like that."

"It isn't?" Dave asked, slightly disbelieving.

"No," Derek said truthfully, his dark eyes staring across the small space, "It isn't. Penelope is my best friend, man. My safe place in any storm. But it isn't romantic. It's...hell, this is gonna sound fucking lame, but...she's my angel. She's the one person that doesn't judge me or ridicule me...and yeah, there's chemistry, I guess...but I'd never risk ruining what we have together. A rarity like that woman comes along once in a lifetime. I'd never risk fucking that up by gambling on a relationship that might fizzle."

"Let me get this straight," Dave said slowly, holding up a hand. "Is this the 'I love you but I'm not IN love with you" spiel? Cause I'm gonna have to call bullshit."

"Call it whatever you wanna call it, Rossi," Morgan replied defensively, straightening against the wall, "I don't wanna jeopardize the best relationship I've ever had with a bunch of messy feelings crap." Leveling the other man with a hard stare, he bit out, "And now I think it's my turn again. What's the back story on you and our esteemed Section Chief...talk about fucking repressed feelings," he jabbed, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Dave's face tighten.

"An off-limits subject, Morgan," Dave replied tightly, crossing his arms over his chest in a physical show of defiance.

"You scared, Rossi?" Morgan mocked, eyes widening. "You can dish it out, but you can't take it?"

"There are no feelings, repressed or otherwise, between Erin and myself, Morgan," Dave replied narrowly, his jaw clenching as he spoke.

"See," Morgan drawled, wagging a finger at Rossi as he easily crossed his long legs stretched out in front of him. "You just told on yourself, Rossi."

"Excuse me?" Rossi frowned, his eyes shifting to meet Morgan's, the dim security lights casting just enough glow to see the knowing gaze staring back at him.

"You called her Erin...you don't call your superior by a first name reflexively without some kind of intimate shared history."

"Have I mentioned how much I hate to be profiled, Morgan?" Rossi asked casually, studiously ignoring Morgan's statement.

Smiling faintly, Derek propped his hands behind his head. "The elevator is a vault, man...just tell me, did you love her?"

"Define love," Rossi snapped, his words clipped as he refused to meet the other man's probing gaze.

"I'm gonna take that as an emphatic 'yes'," Derek stated quietly. Pausing for a moment, he asked, almost deferentially, "What happened, Rossi?"

"What usually happens, Derek," Rossi sighed wearily, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as memories of his time with Erin flashed through his mind. "Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Girl fucks over boy six ways from Sunday."

"Sounds like typical Strauss," Morgan commiserated.

"I left my second wife for her...left the Bureau for her," Dave confided softly, realizing belatedly that he had never shared that piece of information with anyone else on the team, save for Hotch. "She refused to leave her husband and his political clout," he shrugged. "I learned a hard lesson that I'll never forget."

"What's that?" Derek asked softly, watching the elder man's tortured face.

"If Strauss' lips are moving, generally, she's lying," Dave muttered. Taking a deep breath, he murmured, "I think it's my turn again, isn't it?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: First of all, we have exciting news, my friends! Nominating ballots for "The Profiler's Choice Awards" are ready and waiting for you at the "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. So please, everyone, come on over and name some of your favorite fics and authors. Lets honor our favorite stories and authors on the site! We want to hear from you. Rules and guidelines are also available at the forum and as always, tonnie2001969 and I would be delighted to answer any questions that you may have. Now, let's get nominating! **

**For anyone willing to help us advertise the awards, we've created a short author's note template available on both my profile page (ilovetvalot) and my co-author's (tonnie2001969). We'd love to have everybody's help making this venture a huge and fun success. Please feel free to copy and paste it into your own author's notes and/or profiles! With your help, I believe this can become an annual event that we ALL look forward to seeing. I hope that you're all as eager as I am to see this incredible project lift off. And a very _BIG_ thanks to all the authors helping us advertise these awards! We truly appreciate any assistance you can provide.**

**We also have a new interview for you at the forum with the incredibly talented **_**peace4people**_**. Please join us as we get to know her.**

**Finally, we've added a few new discussion threads for our reader's pleasure. The first is one that will hopefully become a useful resource for everyone at the forum called, "Finding a Beta on Chit Chat on Author's Corner". If you'd like to advertise your beta skills and make yourself available to other authors, please come sign up. We'd love to hear from you!**

**The Second is called, **_**"The BAU Bullpen is Open for Business"**_**. It introduces a podcast run by a couple of our fellow authors, **_**BonesBird**_** and **_**clarebones**_**. Please check it out! And lastly, we have our newest **_**Fortune Cookie Friday**_** prompt available. I hope you all will check these exciting threads out. **

**And don't forget to get out there and nominate your favorite authors and stories. We're excited to hear from you!**

* * *

**The Steel Trap Confessional**

**Chapter Three**

Seeing the tense lines bracketing his friend's mouth, Derek decided that pursuing the lowdown on Strauss might not be in his best interest. "Ask away, my friend," Derek invited magnanimously, waving a hand in open invitation.

Inhaling deeply, Dave took a moment to gather his thoughts as he replied, "Okay, there's a fire in the house..."

"Are you kidding me?" Morgan chuckled, rolling his eyes at the well-known teaser.

"Shut up, it's my turn," Dave returned darkly. "So, there's a fire. What three things do you grab on your way out the door?"

"Easy," Morgan smirked. Raising his hand, he ticked off his fingers as he said, confidently, "Clooney, my dad's shield, and my gun."

"Your dad's shield?" Rossi asked, cocking his head.

"I followed in my dad's footsteps on the CPD," Morgan shrugged, easily accepting his own needs. "Cop family. What about you? Same question."

"Mudgie, my mother's rosary and my father's Bible," Dave answered automatically.

"A man of faith," Derek muttered, almost bitterly.

"Derek," Rossi stated quietly, catching the other man's tone, "When you get to be as old as I am and have seen some of the shit I've watched go down, you'll learn that a little bit of faith will get you a long way."

"Not to mention those three ex-wives you've got surrounding you, huh?" Derek grinned, easily lightening the mood inside the enclosed space.

"There is that," Dave said, inclining his head slightly in affirmation. Without the Lord's light shining on him, he couldn't deny that at least two of those wives would've managed to end his days. He was fairly certain they had been sent by the opposition, intent on dragging him to the pits of hell with their every volatile way.

"Okay," Morgan said, eyes gleaming as he rubbed his hands together, "Let's get to the good stuff."

"The good stuff?" Rossi repeated, arching an eyebrow as he took in the other man's calculating gaze.

"Yeah. The good stuff. The stuff that'll make you glad that we're sitting in this steel trap confessional," Morgan winked. "Which of our lovely ladies would you have tried to bang upon your return if not for those pesky fraternization rules that you're responsible for? Thanks for that by the way," Derek added grouchily, frowning at Dave in mild consternation.

"I plead the fifth," Dave replied uneasily, idly plucking at non-existent lint on his well-worn jeans. "I think each female agent working with us is an asset to the Bureau."

"Oh, puh-lease," Morgan said, waving a hand. "This is ME you're talking to. A hound dog created in YOUR image, I'm told. Spill it, Rossi. Which one?"

"Nosy bastard," Dave accused with no real heat behind his words.

"Tell me something I don't already know and quit stalling," Morgan demanded, a smile tilting his lips as he waited expectantly.

"Fine, but I swear to God, Morgan, if you ever repeat anything..."

"My lips are sealed," Morgan said, mimicking a zipper across his mouth, even adding a quick locking motion for good measure.

"Well, since Penelope Garcia would scare the ever loving hell out of any sane man...no offense," Dave said with a quick apology.

"None taken," Morgan shrugged. "Garcia WOULD tear your old ass up," he affirmed with twinkling eyes.

"Gee, thanks," Rossi muttered. "Do you wanna hear this or not?" he asked through pursed lips.

"Oh, I GOTTA hear this...so, no lucky Penny for you," Derek chuckled.

"No, and I doubt I could ever see myself with Prentiss. Those combat boots of hers would leave a hell of an impression," Rossi joked, shaking his head at the thoughts of the raven-headed beauty.

"Oh, trust me, they did," Morgan grinned unrepentantly.

Eyes widening at that surprising revelation, Rossi stuttered, "Y-you and Prentiss?"

"Not so much," Derek laughed easily. "They made the impression when she drop kicked my ass her first week on the job. My flirtatious banter was NOT appreciated before she got to know me."

"I wonder why," Dave drawled.

"Okay, okay," Derek said dismissively, "No comments from the peanut gallery." Crossing his arms over his chest as he narrowed eyes on his fellow agent, Morgan murmured, "And then there was one."

"Yeah, I guess there was," Dave replied. "And in a different life, JJ was exactly the type of woman I SHOULD have tried to be with. Soft in all the right places with a backbone of steel."

"Rossi and JJ sitting in a tree," Morgan teased, his words flowing easily in a sing-song voice.

"Right up until I opened my mouth and she shoved me out of it, that is," Dave replied good-naturedly, the mental picture giving him a momentary chuckle. "But you can't deny, she's a beauty. They all are in their way, but JJ's..."

"HOT," Derek supplied helpfully, his head nodding rapidly.

"Very hot," Dave confirmed, smiling as X-rated images teased his mind.

"Okay, get your head out of the gutter, man," Morgan admonished lightly, recognizing that glint in the other man's eyes. "Those rules are in place because of you as it is. Imagining violating them probably isn't your wisest move."

"You know me better than I thought," Dave remarked dryly, his lips twitching.

"Like speaks to like, I guess," Morgan replied evenly.

"Well, same question. Which one of our team would you consider if those Bureau rules weren't strictly enforced?" Rossi asked, assuming he already knew the answer.

"Reid," Morgan replied, straight-faced, laughing loudly as he watched Rossi's face go slack in open-mouthed shock. "I just had to see the reaction, man!" Derek panted when he could finally speak again, his words coming in hitching gasps.

"Very funny," Dave muttered, kicking out to nudge the other man's foot. Too bad he couldn't fire his weapon. But knowing his luck, the bullet would bounce off one of these enclosed walls and come back to bite him in the butt!

"God, I wish I'd had a camera," Morgan said, clutching his stomach as he burst into a gale of laughter again and pointed at Rossi's face. "Fucking priceless."

"You're sadistic," Rossi complained. "Go ahead and laugh. That may be the one thing that makes it out of this steel prison," he threatened just as the elevator shook, the rumble rattling the walls.

"Oh, shit!" Derek yelped, eyes going wide as he gripped either side of the wall. "We're goin' down, man!"

"And they say that I'm the theatrical one," Rossi muttered, rising to his feet as the lights flashed back on. "That was a power surge, moron. We're moving again," Dave explained as both men happily heard the overhead motor to the fan kick on. "We've got juice back."

"Praise Jesus," Morgan yelled, pumping his fist in the air victoriously as the elevator dinged. "We're free!" his relieved voice enthused as the steel doors slid open.

Shoving Morgan into the corridor, Dave growled, "Just remember, what's said in the elevator..."

"Stays in the elevator," Morgan agreed as both men happily walked out of the Bureau and into the bright afternoon sunlight.

_**FINIS**_


End file.
